Denon 5800 as Pre or ?.......... (1 Viewer)

[David*RT]

I have a Denon 5800 being relegated to preamp duties. I have a separate amp.
Is the Denon preamp audiophile quaility or should I go with a separate preamp w/ remote & HT out jack (around $1000 budget) to run my mains while the Denon does the other HT speakers.
The sonic difference has to be marked over the Denon for me to consider spending additional $$$ for a preamp, otherwise it wouldn't be worth it.
If you guys advise for the preamp, can you list potential candidates?
Thanks in advance................

 

[Larry B]

David:

Is the Denon preamp audiophile quaility...

This is a highly subjective area. In my opinion, no HT receiver comes even close to audiophile quality. In determining what level preamp would best suit your needs, you should of course take into account you other associated equipment.
Larry

 

[David*RT]

Well, the rest of the equipment in my setup is audiophile quality.
If it could be considered a "weak link" it would be the Denon 5800 as the preamp.
But is it...even in "pure direct" mode?
I need help/suggestions......
:frowning:

 

[Jack Smith]

David...go with the 5800. I went nuts one fine afternoon and purchased two Cinepro Amps (3k6-375x6 to power the front three speakers, and a 2k5-250x5 to power the 4 surround speakers), but ya' know what, dude? I've never looked back. As much as I liked the internal amps on the Denon, the 5800 as pre-amp with all this available power is unbeatable (unless you're buying a McIntosh 7.1 pre-amp). Someday, I plan to switch the Denon for either the Cinepro or McIntosh pre-amp...but that day is not even on the calender as of this writing. The only never-ending problem I've had so far is with the groundloop demon (has nothing to do with the Denon).
Speakers: Klipsch RF-7's, RC-7, RS-7's, & pair of RF-3's in the center surround position.
Speaker Cables: Monster Z2's.

 

[GordonL]

Let me throw in my experience. I recently went from a Denon AVD-2000 pre-amp/processor to a Lexicon MC-1. This is a huge jump dollar-wise but I think the AVD-2000 is comparable to the pre-pro section in the top-of-line Denon at the time, the 5700. Comparing 2 channel only, the MC-1 is far superior, as it should be, given the price difference. CDs that I could not stand to listen to with the AVD-2000 are now very sweet sounding. The AVD-2000 has a somewhat harsh sound which was not apparent to me when I originally paired it with a Yamaha amp. After upgrading the amp to a Bryston, I would get listeners fatigue within minutes. Whether or not you will see a significant improvement depends on how well the 5800 works with your amp. In my case, there was clearly a mis-match, YMMV.

 

[David*RT]

Would a passive preamp connected to the Cd player and the amp be a good option?

I guess, the passive pre would need a Home Theater out jack to connect to the Denon for HT duties, correct?

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks...........

 

[Zbigniew]

You can get really good 2 chan preamp dirt cheap - look at parasound 1500/2000 line, Sony TA-9000, and may others (if you search archives, there were quite a few threads on it).

usually you connect your 2-channel sources to preamp; also 2 front channels from your Denon to preamp; if you want 2-ch, use sources + preamp + amp + mains; if you need HT, you run receiver as decoder, and preamp in pass-through mode to amps for fronts.

This setup is popular as convergence between 2-channel and surround for HT.

Myself, I wanted encapsulating sound - and went with lexicon for Logic-7. My CD collection never sounded better; I can switch to 2-ch any time and wonder why this sound is so flat and limited in space...

_zjt